What we learned about the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update 17 May 2017 Vertanet Kelly Paik

We’ve hardly finished rebooting our PCs with the Creators Update from April but Microsoft is wasting no time in teasing the next update to come for Windows 10. The Fall Creators Update as it's called should be arriving on our Windows machines come September. And during Microsoft's recent Build event last week, we got a first look at what exactly we can expect.

While April’s Creators Update bulked up the company’s creative and productivity tools with a focus on 3D and AR integration, the fall update looks to package a few interesting surprises aimed at making the Windows experience more helpful and available across more devices.

Here’s a rundown of the biggest changes to come with the new update:

Pick up where you left off

Come fall’s update, you’ll be able to start a task on a Microsoft device and then continue on your iPhone or Android phone. If you install Cortana on your phone, you’ll be able to open your Windows apps on the device and literally pick up where you left off on your PC.

Imagine being able to start a powerpoint presentation on your laptop, then continue on your phone once you leave the office. And with upcoming improvements to the clipboard, you’ll be able to copy text on one device and paste it in another.

Though the reigning philosophy of the day among tech giants is to create closed ecosystems that lock you into that brand, Microsoft is taking a bold swerve toward making itself available to you on other platforms. It’s possible the change in strategy is Microsoft’s way of conceding the point that their bet on the Windows phone didn’t quite pan out. So here we get to witness Microsoft’s new and more realistic approach to tackling mobile.

Credit: Microsoft

Timeline

Timeline is like a historical log of everything you’re working on and have worked on going back in time. It’s like the current Windows 10 Task View but with much more history. So you can close out a task and then pull it back up right where you left off.

Credit: Microsoft

OneDrive Files on Demand

OneDrive Files on Demand makes all OneDrive-stored files visible and accessible from Windows 10’s file system. And yes, this includes files stored just in the cloud. The folder will include icons to denote whether the files are stored locally or only online. Opening a file will download it to your machine.

Story Remix

Story Remix stole the show as the sexy new toy to be showcased at Build. Billed as the “evolution of the Photos app”, the software uses machine learning and mixed reality to create photo and video highlight reels. Add music and animations from Microsoft’s Remix 3D to create homegrown cinematic productions.

Credit: Microsoft

Fluent Design

With an ever-increasing ecosystem of devices ranging from Xbox, to HoloLens, to Surface Pro, Microsoft had a real challenge on their hands for making the user interface feel coherent. Now they’re announcing the release of a new design principle named Fluent Design aimed at doing a better job bringing it all together.

"We're building experiences for mouse, ink, touch, gesture and gaze, for an incredible range of devices, which include PCs, tablets, phones, TVs and mixed-reality headsets" said Joe Belfiore, Microsoft's corporate VP in the operating systems group, at the Microsoft Build conference.

The overall principle is one that looks light and comes with layers and animations. In a throwback to previous design iterations, Fluent is also bringing back some translucent accents. The changes are meant to make it easier to render elements in 3D.

Credit: Microsoft

These are just some of the biggest features to be rolling out with the Fall Creators Update. To get more details on all the new features to get announced at Build, check out some of the news and video highlights provided by Microsoft.

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About the author

Kelly Paik is a freelance writer covering science and technology. She hails from San Francisco where she spent some time in the trenches of Silicon Valley, from where she brings that inside perspective as she serves the latest on innovations and updates in the tech industry.